Director of Maintenance Operations

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About Jubilee Housing

The mission of Jubilee Housing is to build diverse, compassionate communities that create opportunities for everyone to thrive. Since 1973, Jubilee has worked to provide high quality affordable housing and holistic support to individuals and families in the Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods of Washington D.C. Jubilee operates more than a dozen properties totaling over 500 homes and has an active development pipeline of new affordable housing, including D.C.’s first urban aquaponics and hydroponics farm located in the basement and rooftop of one of our buildings. Jubilee also offers robust programming for residents and community members as they pursue life goals.   

Jubilee’s Justice Housing® model is built on the principle of providing deeply affordable homes with onsite or nearby services located in neighborhoods where resources such as good schools, grocery stores, and public transportation are readily accessible. Jubilee is seeking individuals who want to work with us to ensure Justice Housing becomes a reality for all who need it. 

Position Description

The Director of Maintenance Operations is the senior leader responsible for Jubilee Housing's maintenance function across the portfolio. The Director provides direct leadership to all maintenance staff, porters, and the Maintenance Coordinator, and is accountable for the day-to-day performance, systems, standards, and long-term effectiveness of the department.

This role owns the full maintenance lifecycle, including work order intake and completion, preventive maintenance, unit turns, inspections, life-safety systems, vendor performance, inventory, procurement, maintenance-driven capital projects, and regulatory compliance. The Director is expected to build strong systems and accountability while remaining technically capable of stepping in to diagnose, guide, or assist with large, complex, or unusual maintenance issues when needed. This is not a routine technician position and does not participate in the regular on-call rotation; however, the Director serves as a management escalation point for significant after-hours emergencies.

Who You Are

• A Leader. You lead by example and are committed to coaching, developing, and holding your team accountable every day.
• A Systems Thinker. You identify workflow breakdowns and build durable processes, standards, and accountability measures that scale with the portfolio.
• Technically Savvy. You have a strong hands-on understanding of building systems and are quick to learn new tools and technology.
• A Strong Communicator. Your writing and speaking skills are clear and effective, helping you connect well with staff, residents, and senior leadership.
• A Team Player. You are united with teammates across departments in delivering the best experience to residents.
• Proactive. You act like an owner, building programs and habits that prevent emergencies rather than just reacting to them.
• Personable. You are respectful, pleasant to be around, and enjoy engaging with others.
• Levelheaded. You keep your cool during maintenance emergencies and quickly find solutions.
• Solution-Oriented. You follow through on commitments, letting teammates and residents know they matter.

Specific Duties

Department Leadership and Staff Development

• Directly supervise all Maintenance Technicians, Porters, and the Maintenance Coordinator; establish clear expectations, provide coaching and feedback, and manage performance and accountability.
• Develop staffing schedules and deployment strategies that provide appropriate coverage across the portfolio.
• Build a department culture centered on safety, follow-through, quality workmanship, resident service, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Coordinate and provide technical training for maintenance staff; identify skill gaps and establish development plans.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance and, when necessary, assist with major, difficult, or unusual maintenance issues that require advanced troubleshooting or leadership.

Work Order Management and Maintenance Systems

• Own the end-to-end work order process, including intake, triage, assignment, tracking, escalation, quality control, and closure using OneSite/RealPage.
• Establish and enforce clear service standards for routine, urgent, and emergency maintenance requests.
• Monitor open work orders, aging, response times, completion rates, repeat issues, and resident-impacting trends; take corrective action when performance falls below expectations.
• Maintain dashboards and reporting routines that provide the Vice President of Property Management, Director of Property Management, Community Managers, and organizational leadership with clear visibility into maintenance performance.
• Continuously improve maintenance workflows, system configuration, documentation standards, and data quality.

Unit Turns and Vacancy Readiness

• Maintain portfolio-wide accountability for unit turns and established make-ready timelines.
• Oversee and guide the Maintenance Coordinator in maintaining the make-ready schedule, coordinating vendors and staff, tracking progress, and escalating delays.
• Review vacant-unit status regularly and ensure units are completed to Jubilee Housing standards and ready for occupancy within established timelines.
• Coordinate closely with Property Management regarding vacancy priorities, move-in dates, access, and completion status.

Preventive Maintenance, Inspections, and Physical Operations

• Design, implement, and maintain a comprehensive preventive maintenance program for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, elevators, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and other building systems.
• Use OneSite/RealPage or related systems to schedule, assign, document, and verify recurring preventive maintenance tasks.
• Conduct routine property inspections and identify, assign, and track corrective actions.
• Ensure life-safety systems are maintained, tested, inspected, and documented in accordance with applicable requirements.
• Oversee grounds maintenance, snow removal, trash removal, common-area conditions, and porter operations.
• Maintain inventory controls for parts, supplies, tools, and equipment; establish appropriate stocking and reorder practices.

Emergency Response

• Serve as a management escalation point for significant after-hours maintenance emergencies when the on-call and backup process requires additional leadership or technical support.
• Provide technical direction during emergencies and coordinate vendors, staff, Property Management, and senior leadership as necessary.
• Review emergency incidents and recurring failures to identify corrective actions, training needs, or preventive measures.
• The Director does not participate in the routine technician on-call rotation.

Compliance and Safety

• Ensure maintenance operations comply with HUD, NSPIRE/REAC, OSHA, District of Columbia building and housing codes, life-safety requirements, and other applicable regulations.
• Lead maintenance preparation for agency, governmental, owner, lender, and partner inspections and ensure findings are tracked through timely closure.
• Maintain current contractor licenses, certificates of insurance, and other required vendor documentation in coordination with applicable departments.
• Participate in organizational safety initiatives and promote safe work practices across the maintenance department.

Vendors, Procurement, and Capital Projects

• Develop scopes of work, solicit and evaluate competitive bids, and oversee maintenance vendors and contractors.
• Manage maintenance-related RFPs, contracts, renewals, amendments, and vendor performance in accordance with organizational procurement requirements.
• Lead maintenance-driven capital improvement projects from planning through completion, including scope, bidding, scheduling, quality control, and closeout.
• Partner with Development on major redevelopment, construction, warranty, and property transition matters while representing the operational needs of Property Management and Maintenance.
• Verify completed vendor work for quality, completeness, and alignment with approved scope before recommending payment.

Budget and Financial Management

• Collaborate with the Director of Property Management and Vice President of Property Management in developing annual maintenance operating and capital budgets.
• Monitor maintenance spending against approved budgets, identify variances, and recommend corrective action or reforecasting as needed.
• Support long-term capital planning by identifying building-system needs, recurring failures, and replacement priorities.
• Review maintenance-related invoices, purchasing activity, and contract costs for accuracy, appropriateness, and budget alignment.

Policies, Procedures, and Cross-Department Collaboration

• Assess, develop, maintain, and implement maintenance policies, procedures, standards, checklists, and the Jubilee Housing Maintenance Manual.
• Ensure maintenance procedures are practical, consistently understood, and applied across the portfolio.
• Partner closely with Community Managers, the Director of Property Management, and the Vice President of Property Management to resolve resident concerns, coordinate property priorities, and improve service delivery.
• Maintain effective working relationships with vendors, contractors, community partners, and District agencies as required.
• Support new property transitions, operational readiness, and systems onboarding.

Desired Qualifications

Experience and Education

• Seven (7) or more years of progressively responsible experience in multifamily property maintenance, facilities management, affordable housing, construction, or a closely related field.
• Three (3) to five (5) years of supervisory or management experience with demonstrated success leading maintenance teams and building accountability.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, appliances, carpentry, drywall, painting, and general building systems.
• Demonstrated experience managing work order systems, preventive maintenance programs, unit turns, inspections, vendors, and contractors.
• Experience with OneSite/RealPage or a comparable property management platform; ability to configure, improve, and use the system for accountability and reporting is strongly preferred.
• Experience developing or managing maintenance and capital budgets, procurement processes, contracts, and vendor relationships.
• Bachelor's or Associate's degree preferred; equivalent combination of education, trade training, certifications, and experience will be considered.

Required Certifications and Licenses

• EPA Universal Certification required.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record and reliable transportation.
• OSHA 10/30, CAMT, CAMT II, CMM, trade-school, military, or other relevant technical certifications are preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong leadership, coaching, performance management, and employee-development skills.
• Advanced troubleshooting ability and sufficient technical depth to guide staff through difficult or unusual maintenance issues.
• Strong systems thinking and the ability to translate operational needs into practical workflows, standards, and accountability measures.
• Ability to prioritize competing maintenance, compliance, resident, staffing, and capital needs across multiple properties.
• Strong vendor, contract, procurement, and budget management skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with staff, residents, senior leadership, vendors, and external partners.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and working knowledge of SharePoint and related business systems.
• Calm, sound judgment during emergencies and changing operational conditions.

Physical Requirements

Ability to regularly walk properties, climb stairs and ladders, inspect mechanical and building systems, work indoors and outdoors, and lift up to 50 pounds as needed. The Director must be able to respond to significant emergency situations and access areas necessary to evaluate maintenance conditions.

Benefits

Benefits include health, vision, and dental insurance, STD, LTD, and Life insurances, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, transportation stipend and a 403b matched contribution retirement plan.

Background Check and Drug Screening

Finalist(s) for this position will be subject to a drug screening and will be required to consent to a pre-employment background check, to include employment and education verifications, as a condition of employment.

Background check and drug test results do not automatically preclude you from being considered for employment. We recognize that each candidate's circumstances may differ, and we evaluate all aspects of your application and qualifications before making a final decision.

References

Please be prepared to provide 3 professional references if you are selected for this role.

Jubilee Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer